Natalie
by Beaglicious
Summary: Greg’s got a new girl, and Sara isn’t happy. But the competition isn’t exactly what she thinks it is. Sandles. No spoilers.


**Natalie**

**Disclaimer: Not mine. All CSI characters owned by Jerry Bruckheimer and associated parties. Don't own the Killers either.**

**Summary: Greg's got a new girl, and Sara isn't happy. But the competition isn't exactly what she thinks it is. No spoilers. Mild Sandles, but shippers of any persuasion should enjoy.**

He hadn't taken any overtime recently. He stayed and worked as hard as he always did during his shift, but when morning came, he was gone, a smile on his face and a whistle in the air. Sara pretended she didn't notice the way his eyes shined. It would have been easy to dismiss it at first; after all, there were no hushed phone calls, no mystery visitors, no lipstick smudges. But there was that glow.

One day when she was on her way home, passing by Grissom's office as she always did, she overheard him talking. Social niceties told her to keep walking, but her curiosity super-glued her feet to the floor.

"I'm going to be out for a couple of days next week, Gris," she heard him say. "Natalie's having surgery."

"Fine," he said.

"Want to see a picture?" Sara could hear the happiness in his voice.

"She's beautiful, Greg."

The burn in Sara's ears brought her back to reality. _So Greg's got a girl. How come no one knows?_

The days passed on by, and the following Wednesday Greg didn't show up for assignments.

"Where's Greg?" Nick asked.

"Out," Grissom said flatly, his tone inviting no further discussion on the matter. The team looked at each other, shrugged, and moved on.

By Friday night, Greg was back, and the joy that had permeated his face recently was now replaced with anxiety. Sara had been in trace, collecting the results from a case that she had come in early to work on, and missed his return, as well as any clues as to who Natalie was. She wasn't about to ask anyone about her, not wanting them to see her fear. _Face it, Sidle. Greg's moved on. That crush he had on you was nice while it lasted._

She finally ran into him in the locker room the next morning, where he was hurriedly changing and packing his bags. Deciding to push her luck and maybe her heartbreak as well, Sara spoke.

"What's the rush, Greggo?"

Greg looked up at her from his bag. The smile was back. _She obviously makes him happy, Sidle. Can't you be happy for him?_

_No._

"I've got to get home. Natalie – wait a minute. Have you met Natalie?" Greg bounded over to Sara and grabbed her hand. I've got someone I want you to meet. Come home with me?"

Sara looked at Greg as if he'd grown two heads. "Um, Greg, I heard this Natalie chick just had surgery. I can't imagine that she's up for visitors." _I can't imagine that I'm up for meeting her._

Greg grinned wildly. "Nate's always up for visitors. Please come meet her. It would mean a lot to me. I'll even cook you breakfast."

Sara shifted her weight between her feet. She knew she shouldn't, but her curiosity was killing her and Greg's insistence was hard to deny.

"Okay." She finally muttered. "As long as Natalie's okay with it." _There's no way she'll be okay with this._

"She'll love you," he said.

_I bet._

A few minutes later, they were pulling out of the parking lot and heading towards Greg's. He was chattering excitedly.

"I didn't tell anyone about her because I wasn't sure I could keep her. But now, I can't imagine letting her go. She's my number one girl."

At every pause, Sara tried to protest her visit. "Greg, I really shouldn't interrupt."

"Sara," he said, sparing her a brief glance. "Will you just chill?"

"I've got to warn you," he said as he opened the door to his apartment. "Her breath's a little – strong."

"Greg!" Sara said, smacking him lightly on the upper arm. "You shouldn't talk about your girlfriend like that." _I wonder how my breath is._

Greg just laughed and opened the door. The house was dark and quiet. "She's in the bedroom. I'll go get her."

"Greg – don't make her get out of bed."

"She needs to go to the bathroom, Sara." He disappeared down the back hallway. Sara heard mild cooing noises. It sounded like Natalie wasn't interested in getting out of bed.

_This was a bad idea._

A few moments later, Greg returned. "She's coming," he said. "It just takes her a moment to get up and going." Greg took the opportunity to wrap his arms around Sara's waist and pull her close. "Sara," he whispered.

"Greg! What are you doing?" Sara huffed, pushing his arms away and stepping back. "I should go."

_This was a _really_ bad idea._

She spun around to go when a deep howl made her turn around. Standing off to Greg's left side, wagging her tail furiously, was a chunky basset hound.

"This is Nate," Greg said, squatting down to rub her ears. The basset's tail wagged even harder as she leaned up against Greg.

Sara was too shocked to move. Natalie howled again and lumbered over to Sara, butting her nose against her shin. Sara squatted down and gingerly patted the dog's head. She looked over at Greg. He was smiling, a dreamy look on her face.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" he asked. Natalie lay down then, rolling over to her back and pawing at the air. "She wants you to rub her tummy," Greg offered. "Be careful, she's still got stitches in."

Sara rubbed the dog's upper chest gently. Natalie grumbled good-naturedly as her tongue lolled out of her mouth.

"This is Natalie?" she finally managed to spit out.

"Yup," he said, standing up and walking into the kitchen. Natalie opened her eyes and twisted her head to follow Greg's movement, but stayed put, enjoying Sara's attention.

Greg chattered away as he began to put together breakfast. "I adopted her from a local rescue group a few weeks ago. One of their volunteers saved her from the pound the day before she was scheduled to be put down. She's older, about nine, but I didn't want a puppy. They have to go out like, eight times a day. Nate came ready made - housebroken and past the chewing stage. All I had to do was get her spayed, which is why I was out the last few days. It's changed so much since I had a dog growing up. You know they do it by laparoscopy now? The vet said she'd be fine, but I just couldn't bear to leave her alone. But she's doing great, aren't you girl?"

Natalie rolled back over and stood up, shaking her body before trotting into the kitchen. "Hey girl," he said. Natalie howled.

Sara stood up and moved to the door of the kitchen, watching Greg dance around the hound while he prepared breakfast. Natalie seemed to enjoy standing just behind Greg, so that every time he stepped back, he nearly stepped on her large paws. He'd then turn around and fuss at her good-naturedly, which would cause the basset's tail to wag.

"You're only encouraging this behavior, Greg," Sara pointed out, a smile on her face. "She's going to end up spoiled."

"She's already spoiled," he said, handing Sara an omelet. "Go sit down. I just have to fix Nate's breakfast."

Sara laughed and took her plate to the tiny kitchen table. Natalie followed her and sat at her feet, staring up at Sara expectantly. A bit of drool appeared at the side of her mouth.

When Greg appeared, rattling the food in Natalie's bowl, the hound left Sara and danced around Greg merrily, waiting for him to put the bowl down.

"Sit, Nate" he told her. Natalie sat. Sara watched the drool lengthen. When Greg finally put down her bowl, the hound dove in, chomping away happily.

"Her favorite time of day," he said, grabbing his own plate and sitting down next to Sara.

"I can't believe you adopted a dog," Sara said.

"I've had dogs my whole life. For a long time I was convinced that my job here wouldn't let me have a dog, but a friend convinced me that an older dog would be manageable. I'm so glad I listened to him. She's the greatest thing that's happened to me since moving to Vegas."

"Why'd you name her Natalie?"

Greg blushed. "There's a song by the Killers, Believe Me, Natalie, which I really like. I thought she deserved a real name. I call her Nate for short."

"That's sweet, Greg."

He continued, a frown crossing his face for the first time. "The pound said that the man who surrendered her never bothered to give her a name. All her cared about was how many puppies she produced. People like him make me sick."

Greg watched Sara watch Natalie. "You thought I had a real girlfriend, didn't you?" he asked, half-teasing.

Sara looked back up at Greg. "Yeah," she admitted. "You just seemed so – so happy."

"Did that bother you?"

Sara fidgeted. "I was glad that you were happy, Greg."

Greg continued to push the subject. "But it still bothered you."

"Maybe. What are you getting at?"

"You thought I'd gotten over my crush on you."

"Greg."

"Sara, I love Nate, but she's a terrible kisser and she hogs the bed."

"I've been told that I hog the bed."

Greg leaned forward and kissed Sara softly on the lips. "Maybe. But your breath's not near as bad."

Sara laughed against Greg's mouth, and he took the opportunity of her open lips to deepen the kiss. Somewhere in the background, Natalie started howling.

"I can feel her tail thumping against my leg," Sara whispered.

"At least she's not drooling on your toes," he said.

_Fin_

**A/N: Dedicated to my own former death row doggy, Beags. If you're interested in a companion animal, please consider adopting one from a rescue group or shelter. The devotion and love you will receive is well worth it. If you already have a pet, please spay or neuter them. Only 1 in every 7 dogs born ever finds a home, and that ratio increases to 1 in 10 for cats.**

"**The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Gandhi**


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